An Assessment of Air Force Data on Contract Expenditures

For the past several years, the U.S. Air Force has been using data from the Individual Contracting Action Report form, also known as the DD350, to analyze its goods and services expenditures. This analysis is part of the Air Force’s efforts to develop new purchasing and supply management strategies for important categories of goods and services. For this study, the authors collected data from Air Force contracting officers on a sample of fiscal year 2002 (FY02) DD350 records to assess the adequacy and accuracy of DD350 data for conducting expenditure analyses. The authors then extrapolated their findings from the sample to reflect all Air Force FY02 DD350 contract actions. Among other findings, the authors determined that the Product Service Codes (PSCs) used in the DD350 forms are not detailed enough to capture the full range of various goods and services purchased by the Air Force and the PSCs for nearly 50 percent of contract actions are coded inaccurately.